Englewood PRK doctors

PRK is the process of lasering the front of the eye after removing the protective skin or epithelium that covers the eye and has many nerve endings.  It is not the PRK itself that is painful, but the denuded surface which is a large corneal abrasion which must heal.

Many things can be done to minimize discomfort such as topical medications (drops), contact lenses, systemic analgesics (pain pills) and cool compresses.  Usually the pain is relatively short in duration lasting just a few days, but sometimes it can be severe.

This is why LASIK is so popular because it is relatively pain free and accomplishes the same visual result.  Some people are better suited to PRK and in these cases, the discomfort is worth it.  We have had a number of patients who report only mild discomfort with PRK so it is variable.

You did not say what your corneal thickness readings were or if there were other considerations that make corneal surgery risky, but assuming that there is no problem with having PRK this is a safer, simpler and more predictable option.

I am also not sure why you would want to have only 3 out of 5 diopters corrected unless this is a limitation of corneal thickness or you are older than it sounds like from your question, where you may want monovision in one eye.  If both eyes are only corrected to -2.00 you will still need correction full time and this is probably not a great idea.  It is also not clear why LASIK is not an option for you but might be a consideration especially with the newer all laser method.  Intacs cannot correct any astigmatism, are slightly riskier for serious complications, and are usually used in higher corrections or when corneal surgery cannot be performed.

At first one might think that PRK should cost less than LASIK, but in most cases it is about the same. One thing to realize is that because PRK involves removing the epithelium from the eye, the recovery is longer and many times requires more visits.

Because the visits are bundled into the cost in most cases, the increased intensity of care offsets the fact that a flap does not need to be made in PRK like it does in LASIK. Also, the patients who have PRK are in general higher risk which is the reason that they are having PRK rather than LASIK in the first place. The exception to this is PRK when the patient has occupational reasons for this choice.

Another factor is many times PRK patients are also treated with Mitomycin C to prevent hazing and this must be purchased as a freshly compounded medication from a special type of pharmacy and this is an expensive medication.

Patients also have a slightly greater chance of needing a repeat treatment or enhancement with PRK as compared to LASIK and this is included in the cost and needs to be considered in the overall costs as well.

Finally, and most importantly, the doctor should be providing the care which is in the patient's best interest. For this reason, many doctors do not want to discriminate between similar procedures based on cost and simplify the process by providing one price regardless of the exact procedure. This way patients do not have to make a decision about which procedure to have based on cost considerations.

All doctors and centers set their own pricing, so there is no absolute rule here, but in general expect to pay about the same for either procedure.